Environmental footprints for 2010 and 2014 using the Exiobase Multi-Regional Input-Output Table which is made consistent with Dutch National Accounts.
This study creates a dataset which can be used in the context of the context of the National Programme for a Circular Economy (NPCE). The NPCE aims to reduce the Dutch use of primary raw materials (minerals, metals and fossil fuels) by 50% by 2030. The NPCE is also concerned with the reductions in the environmental pressures and supply chain risks associated with the linear economy. Accordingly, the aim is to prepare a Single-country National Accounts Consistent (SNAC) Multi-Regional Input-Output Table (MRIOT) and to derive footprint calculations from that SNAC-MRIOT. This study calculates experimental carbon footprints, GHG footprints and metal extraction footprints with a SNAC-MRIOT for the years 2010 and 2014. In order to do so, this study analyses six available MRIOTs according to eight criteria and concludes that Exiobase version 3 is the most appropriate MRIOT for analyses concerned with the NPCE. This is because Exiobase is up to date and detailed in such a way as to facilitate analyses of the transition towards a circular economy. The SNAC procedure is then applied to Exiobase by incorporating the national accounts, trade statistics and the environmental accounts into the Exiobase dataset. The resulting data are then re-balanced such that the rules of national accounting hold and that all data relating to the Netherlands remains unaltered . Experimental footprints can then be derived. The carbon footprint from SNAC-Exiobase is 207 billion tonnes in 2010 and 175 billion tonnes in 2014 (a reduction of 15%). The GHG (Greenhouse Gas) footprint (which includes carbon) drops from 274 to 217 billion tonnes carbon equivalent (a reduction of 21%). The footprint for metal extraction drops from 24 million tonnes in 2010 to 19 million tonnes in 2014. Various aspects of these results are analysed including the locations of footprint emissions, the importance of specific metals, the roles of given products, and the differences between the footprint calculations from the original Exiobase and SNAC-Exiobase. Although the results are plausible, there is a more severe reduction in the experimental footprints than would be expected given official Statistics Netherlands footprints. This, in combination with the fact that the 2014 is “now-casted” (extrapolated) informs the conclusion that the 2014 is of somewhat lower quality than the 2010 data.
Commissioned by: Ministry of Economic Affairs.
